With thirty singles Grand Slams between them, sisters Venus and Serena Williams are two of the greatest of all-time. But they’re not the focus of Westbrook Studios/Warner Brothers Pictures’ King Richard. Instead, their father, the controversial, outspoken Richard Williams (played by Will Smith), is.
It’s a meaty role for Will Smith because Richard Williams is single-minded in transforming his daughters into tennis superstars. The journey to their stardom is often not pretty.
Richard with Venus and Serena in 1991 (Paul Harris/Getty Images, published in The Guardian)
Richard is prickly and clashes with everyone, including his own family, mostly his wife, compellingly played by Aunjanue Ellis. But Richard has a plan for his daughters: Grand Slams and enormous sponsorship deals, not necessarily in that order.
To everyone but him, his plan seems unlikely. Richard trains Venus and Serena on a ramshackle court in Compton, where menacing types lurk, against the backdrop of the Rodney King incident. Unsurprisingly, the family is far from flush.
Richard, who works as an overnight security guard, knows that to make it in tennis, he will need to provide his daughters with elite coaching. After relentless querying, Williams gets John McEnroe’s coach, Paul Cohen (played by Tony Goldwyn), to take Venus on pro bono – but not Serena. While Cohen was able to tame the oft-irascible Johnny Mac, he’s not able to do the same with Richard. Eventually, they part ways after a contentious meeting with a powerful sports agency, punctuated by Richard loudly passing gas.
Will Smith (Richard), Saniyya Sidney (Venus), and Demi Singleton (Serena) in “King Richard” (photo courtesy NY Times)
Eventually, Richard and his prodigies move on to another coach, Rick Macci, brilliantly played by Jon Berthal, a true chameleon. But, again, Richard and Macci butt heads. Macci and the rest of the white tennis gatekeepers advise Venus to play the junior tennis circuit, the conventional step toward a professional career. Richard doesn’t buy that. Instead, he wants Venus to mature, get an education, and eventually go pro.
Does Richard have control issues? Yes, definitely. King Richard, you see, is just like its title character … flawed. But give credit where credit is due: His plan worked, and he did it his way.
King Richard is a remarkable story with all-around excellent acting. It’s inspirational, too. Highly recommended.
Jon Hart is the author of Unfortunately, I was available, the sequel to Man versus Ball: One Ordinary Guy and His Extraordinary Sports Adventures.
